Tied the Knot

Can't believe it's been two weeks already! It was a wonderful day and evening - I feel so blessed!

Where did the Summer Go?

Still alive - can't believe it's been darn near 4 months since I've posted. We've moved - had no computer access for a while and are now planning our wedding - October 17th - Sweetest Day - awww - but honestly we didn't know that til after we picked the date - kinda cool though - I think it's good mojo. Now off to bed - we still have a bunch of stuff at the condo, to include the computer desk, so I'm typing this on the floor and I think my elbows have fallen asleep already . . . .

Mother's Day

What an excellent day with the Folks yesterday for Mother's Day! We had a yummy brunch at the Garden and then just came back to the house and hung out. I'm so lucky to have such a Great Mom and such an Awesome Family!

Time Management

Of all the classes and courses and books I've read throughout my life, time management is the one I struggle with the most. I've been reading a book called "Today Matters" for the last year so what does that say about me? Can't believe its been over a month since I've posted. Jumped on Facebook and I barely have time to get on that as well. Good thing I can't access it at work or I might not have a job.

Lots happened over the last month or so - I'm now into my next decade - although from everything I've heard, unless they are just trying to make me feel better, it sounds like the 40s will be fun and will fly by faster than the 30s did.

Also went to Guam - WOW! This picture is from a secluded beach - Haputo Beach - that one of my bosses at work told me about. The picture doesn't do it justice but it gives you a glimpse of its beauty. We also took our goggles and dove down to view the incredible fish - just like the ones you see in the saltwater aquarium. Too Cool!

The house is coming along excellently - Mark is so good at so many things - he got tons done while I was gone. I only contribute in the destruction phase - making things look nice and work correctly is not my forte.

Easter was wonderful too - good friends, good food, good family - Life is Good!

Is there any such thing as truly quick and easy chicken?

OK, so I google-searched a recipe for this and have yet to find one. Maybe I need to search quick and easy chicken recipes that don't require any ingredients other than the chicken . . . . I'm attempting to surprise Mark with lunch and we've got this chicken we need to cook so I thought, how hard can this be? Obviously a bit harder than I thought - I guess I can't cook anything without Parmesan cheese or sour cream - both of which I do not have on hand. Oh wait - I just remembered I have two cookbooks in the cupboard that friends of mine bought for me. There has got to be something in there for chicken. One book is "Cooking for Idiots" and the other is "The Three Ingredient Recipe Cookbook". Yes, my friends know me and they love me :-)

The Joys of Homeownership

I think it is finally sinking in that we've bought a house. The signs are everywhere, especially in our dwindling bank account. This is my first home purchase ever, although I could've probably purchased one with all of the money I've put into renting in the last eighteen years or so. We went to Lowe's one night last week just to pick out lighting for the kitchen - it took a few hours and several hundred dollars before we got what we "think" we want. My friend bought me a magnet once that had the words "I used to be indecisive but now I'm not sure" inscribed on it. Well, that describes me to a tee. Thankfully Mark and I have very similar tastes, and he has built a home before so he knows what he's doing. If I say I like something and he agrees, or vice versa, then we know we're going to be pretty happy with our decisions. The house is unfinished upstairs and we want to make some changes downstairs and to the outside of the house and yard, so we're taking our time and doing a bit at a time. It's kinda fun, but kinda stressful too, and today I get a phone call that the furnace isn't working - not a good sign. Ever the optomist, I point out to Mark that we are going to get a new one anyway eventually because this one is too small to heat the whole house with the unfinished upstairs, but he wants to use this one for his "man cave" in the out building out back and didn't want to have to buy a new one right now. So one of our friends has volunteered to take a look at it for us and hopefully it's just something small and cheap, like the catastrophic converter or something.

I'm still glad we're homeowners though - they're not making land anymore, so at least we've got our own little piece of it.

The Old Barn

Not to count my chickens before they hatch, but we're due to close on this house and property very soon. Most of the formalities are out of the way, and we've taken some pictures of the place and are having fun looking at the ways we want to fix it up. This barn is ("they" say) over 100 years old, and it has so much character - it also has some major issues - part of the roof is gone, the floor has caved in and up in the hay mound area something pretty large must be residing due to the size of the "presents" it has left behind. Of course, being the romantic that I am, I really really hope we can save it - Mark does as well, but I think he's a bit more practical than I am. We're hoping to have an Amish crew come up and take a look at it and give us a quote on restoring it. If it's not cost effective, at least we can save some of the old beams and possibly incorporate them into the new barn we hope to build. I'm still hanging on to hopes that this one can be restored - like our friend Stu says, these old barns are a dying breed.